Vault Minerals March 2026 quarterly activities report

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# Vault Minerals March 2026 quarterly activities report

Source: https://quoteapi.com/api/v5/symbols/vau.asx/announcements/6A1321382/document?appID=2fee0049d633f441
Published: 2026-04-22T00:00:00+00:00
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# Vault Minerals March 2026 quarterly activities report
Source: https://quoteapi.com/api/v5/symbols/vau.asx/announcements/6A1321382/document?appID=2fee0049d633f441
Published: 2026-04-22
ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
22 April 2026
MARCH 2026 QUARTERLY ACTIVITIES REPORT
Vault Minerals Limited (ASX: VAU) (Vault or the Company) is pleased to present the Company’s Quarterly
Activities Report for the quarter ending 31 March 2026.
▪ Quarterly production of 78,578 ounces of gold, with sales of 77,707 ounces of gold at an average
realised sales price of A$6,987 per ounce and AISC of A$3,006 per ounce
▪ Year to date production of 247,203 ounces of gold with sales of 246,981 ounces of gold at an average
realised sales price of A$5,288 per ounce and AISC of A$2,909 per ounce
Mount Monger
▪ Production of 17,213 ounces with sales of 16,335 ounces at an AISC of A$3,108 per ounce for YTD
production of 57,887 ounces with sales of 56,847 ounces at an AISC of A$2,978 per ounce
Deflector Region
▪ Production of 18,016 ounces of gold and 77 tonnes of copper, with sales of 18,358 ounces gold
equivalent at an AISC of A$3,288 per ounce, for YTD production of 58,548 ounces of gold with sales of
58,724 ounces at an AISC of A$3,127 per ounce
▪ Step change in Deflector underground performance under owner operator operations delivered in
March as manning numbers reached target levels and the primary underground mining fleet was
commissioned
Leonora
▪ Production of 43,349 ounces with sales of 43,173 ounces at an AISC of A$2,848 per ounce for YTD
production of 130,767 ounces with sales of 131,410 ounces at an AISC of A$2,782 per ounce
▪ Stage 1 of the KoTH plant upgrade was completed in March, with first ore fed to the new crushing
circuit on 29 March, demonstrating a step change in throughput during the ramp up period.
Growth
▪ KoTH Stage 2 processing plant upgrade on schedule and budget for commissioning in Q2 FY27 to
deliver a ~50% increase in throughput capacity for a 34% increase in Leonora gold production
▪ Strong exploration results are supporting the target of extending high grade underground mine
life at Leonora to maintain annual production rates of ~235,000 ounces beyond FY28
▪ Study work commenced on the potential for a low capital intensity refurbishment of the Darlot
mill to increase processing capacity and gold production in Leonora
Corporate
▪ Step change in free cash flow post acceleration of inflection point with underlying free cash flow for
the quarter of $229 million (+1,808% q-o-q)
▪ Maiden interim dividend of 7cps ($73 million) announced in February and paid in April, alongside an
ongoing share buyback, with $39.6 million deployed throughout the quarter cementing Vault as one
of the highest yielding gold companies
▪ Cash and bullion of $728 million at quarter end (excluding $38.1 million of gold in circuit and
concentrate on hand, at net realisable value)
▪ Growth capital of $68.5 million predominantly associated with non-recurring capital expenditure
associated with the KoTH plant expansion
▪ On track to deliver into FY26 guidance of 332,000 to 360,000 ounces at AISC between A$2,650 –
A$2,850 per ounce
▪ No disruption to diesel supply to operations, with supply contract in place with a global oil major. Vault
continues to monitor the situation with planning in place to leverage high grade underground mines
and the large stockpile position across all operations should the situation deteriorate.
Vault Minerals Limited | ASX: VAU | ABN 73 068 647 610 | Tel: (+61) 8 6313 3800 | www.vaultminerals.com
Suite 4, Level 3, South Shore Centre, 85 South Perth Esplanade, South Perth WA 6151
Overview
The March quarter performance reflects Vault’s investment in operations and accretive deployment of excess
capital. Solid production results, in parallel with significant capital investment and project execution, allowed
Vault to capitalise on its first unhedged quarter, generating underlying free cash flow of $229 million. The
investments throughout FY26 to date, particularly at Leonora and Deflector, have Vault on track to deliver on
its FY26 production guidance of 332,000 – 360,000 ounces at AISC between A$2,650 – A$2,850 per ounce.
Figure 1: Step change in FCF has been delivered
The acceleration of the inflection point following the internally funded closure of H2 FY26 gold hedges has
positioned Vault as a long life, high yielding gold company. Vault announced a maiden interim dividend of
7cps ($73 million) in February in parallel with the ongoing share buyback program. Year to date capital returns
total $127 million with Vault now ranking among the highest yielding mid-cap gold producers, reflecting its
disciplined and sustained focus on shareholder returns.
During the quarter Vault capitalised on market volatility deploying $39.6 million to buy back 8.8 million shares,
bringing total purchases to 12.0 million shares for $53.9 million (1.2% of shares on issue). The Company retains
substantial capacity to continue its buy-back program as an accretive and flexible use of excess capital, aligned
with continued forecast strong free cash flow in Q4 FY26 and into FY27.
7.00 1.4
6.00 1.2
Shares Bought Back (Millions)
5.00 1.0
Share Price (A$/sh)
4.00 0.8
3.00 0.6
2.00 0.4
1.00 0.2
- -
Sep-25 Oct-25 Nov-25 Dec-25 Jan-26 Feb-26 Mar-26
Shares Bought Back Share Price
Figure 2: Vault shares purchased under the buyback v share price demonstrating capitalisation on recent market volatility
Page | 2
Gold production for the quarter was 78,578 ounces, with gold sales of 77,707 ounces at an AISC of A$3,006
per ounce and average realised sales price of A$6,987 per ounce. Year to date gold production was 247,203
ounces, with gold sales of 246,981 ounces at an AISC of A$2,909 per ounce and average realised sales price of
A$5,288 per ounce.
Stage 1 of the processing plant expansion at King of the Hills (“KoTH”) was completed in March with the
commissioning of the new crushing circuit. The KoTH processing facility is the dominant processing facility in
the Leonora district and will be further enhanced by the Stage 2 upgrade, which remains on schedule for
commissioning in Q2 FY27. The Stage 2 upgrade will provide a ~50% increase in throughput capacity to 7.5
to 8.0 mtpa and is forecast to deliver a ~35% increase in Leonora gold production.
FY26 YTD FY26 guidance
Q3 production Q3 sales Q3 AISC
production & (ounces,
(ounces) (ounces) (A$/ounce)
AISC A$/ounce)
130,767 185,000 – 200,000
Leonora 43,349 43,173 2,848
2,782 2,250 – 2,450
Mount 57,887 75,000 – 82,000
17,213 16,335 3,108
Monger 2,978 3,100 – 3,300
58,548 72,000 – 78,000
Deflector 18,016 18,198 3,288
3,127 3,300 – 3,500
247,203 332,000 – 360,000
Group 78,578 77,707 3,006
2,909 2,650 – 2,850
Table 1: Vault Q3 FY26 production, sales and AISC
Vault ended the quarter with cash and bullion of $728 million (excluding $38.1 million of gold in circuit and
concentrate on hand, at net realisable value), with no debt.
Capital investment during FY26 is elevated, reflecting a series of non-recurring, internally funded projects
designed to enhance the long-term value and competitiveness of our established operations. As these
foundational projects reach completion, most notably the KoTH processing plant upgrade, the transition to an
owner operator model at Deflector and the establishment of access to the high grade Spanish Galleon mining
area, Vault expects a material moderation of its capital expenditure profile.
Capital investment during the quarter included:
• $4 million for waste stripping above life-of-mine strip ratios at the Santa Open Pit Complex (Mount
Monger) and the KoTH open pit
• $41 million for the KoTH processing plant upgrade, with Stage 1 now complete
• $8 million for fleet acquisitions and associated infrastructure to support the transition to
owner-operator mining at Deflector.
At Sugar Zone, operational readiness preparations for the recommencement of underground operations in Q1
FY27 continued, including the appointment of key site leadership positions and supply contracts. The permit
for the new Southern Tailings Management Facility is expected in late May 2026.
Page | 3
High grade exploration results across Vault’s operations were released in February, demonstrating the potential
to drive LOM extensions across the portfolio to leverage incumbent infrastructure in prolific districts1.
Encouragingly, drilling at both KoTH and Darlot intersected high grade mineralisation in both primary host
units and within new structural positions, providing a greater opportunity to grow Ore Reserves. Mineralisation
intersected within the new structural units are close to underground infrastructure at both mines. At KoTH, step
out drilling some 600m down plunge of current LOM designs aims to define the scale and continuity of the
poorly defined northern strike extent down plunge of the granodiorite contact. Strong early results have been
returned with the targeted granodiorite host unit intersected and mineralisation identified within the sparsely
tested hanging-wall sediments.
The ambition of ongoing drilling at KoTH underground and Darlot is to provide confidence in the continuity
and tenor of the primary and emerging mineralised structures. Success will transform KOTH & Darlot into
longer life underground mines, supplementing the baseload KoTH open pit mill feed and maintain annual
production above the target 235,000 ounce rate well beyond FY28.
Figure 3: Long section highlighting Resource Definition targets and results of step drilling targeting the northern plunge of the granodiorite
At Deflector, Underground drilling targeting infill and extensional positions within the Contact lode has
intersected high-grade, Deflector-style mineralisation. The Contact lode has seen limited drilling since its
initial development in 2016, as subsequent mining and exploration focused on the Western and Southern
zones. These recent intersections highlight the potential for the Contact lode to provide an additional
mining and exploration front outside current Ore Reserves, supporting production from the South-West
and Spanish Galleon lodes.
1
Refer ASX release 27 February 2026 “Exploration results to drive portfolio LOM extensions”
Page | 4
Mount Monger
Underground gold production from the Daisy Mining Complex increased modestly q-o-q, with higher average
grades more than offsetting reduced mined tonnes. Underground development activity continued at a steady
rate of ~300m per month and is expected to be maintained throughout Q4, positioning the operation to extend
Daisy production into FY27. This extension is supported by continued success of grade control and resource
definition drilling. Notably, the FY27 and FY28 outlook released in October 2025 assumed no contribution from
Daisy and accordingly, the continuation of underground production is expected to enhance mill feed grades
at the Randalls mill by displacing lower grade open pit and stockpile ore in FY27.
Open pit mining was solely focused on the Santa Open Pit Complex. Material movements were consistent q-
o-q, with a lower strip ratio of 10.9 (Q2 FY26: 14.5:1) for a 32% and 28% increase in ore tonnes and grades,
respectively.
Annual strip ratios are expected to decline as ore tonnes and grade progressively increase throughout FY27
and FY28. Mine production will exceed mill capacity in FY26 and FY27 resulting in high grade ore being
preferentially treated.
The Rumbles open pit, scheduled to align with the progressive decline of the Santa strip ratio, is currently being
refined following the completion of a 4,500m drilling program throughout FY26. The current Ore Reserve
comprises 66,000 ounces contained within

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